


Read a Little More

by sarahcakes613



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Alternate Universe, Author Rafael Barba, Flirting, Inspired by Real Events, M/M, Meet-Cute, Photographer Sonny Carisi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27339283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahcakes613/pseuds/sarahcakes613
Summary: Rafael Barba is reluctant to have a new author photo taken for his dust jackets, but meeting photographer Sonny Carisi isn't such a bad side effect.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 62
Collections: Barisi Professions Bingo





	Read a Little More

**Author's Note:**

> Sandra asked for photographer Sonny. Hope you like this, babes!

“We’ve got the majority of the tour booked and we’re just waiting on endorsement blurbs for the posters. John Munch has confirmed he’s willing to write one, but we’re still waiting to hear back from Richard Castle.”

“You probably won’t,” Rafael murmurs, not looking up from his laptop. “He’s hated me ever since I called his bluff and wound up winning the entire pot twice over at our poker game.”

Rita rolls her eyes and continues. “You’ve also got an appointment with a photographer tomorrow.”

Rafael finally looks up. “Whatever for?”

“For your author photo, Rafa. I don’t want to confirm the final cover design until we’ve got the new photo, in case anything needs to be resized or recoloured.”

He squints at her, and then looks over at his bookcase, which is filled with first editions and foreign language copies of every one of his published books.

“What’s wrong with the photo we’ve been using on all the books up until now?” He asks her, and she rolls her eyes again.

“What’s wrong is that your current photo is the one we took for your first book.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Rafa,” Rita pinches the bridge of her nose. “Your first book was published fifteen years ago.”

“Still not seeing the problem.” Rafael says. “My readers like continuity.”

“Your readers want to see what you look like now, not what you looked like when you were thirty-five.”

His only response is a scowl.

* * *

Despite his protests, Rafael knows better than to disobey Rita, so the next day finds him glaring up at the storefront of the photographer’s studio. A sign in the window promises passport photos in fifteen minutes, and another one advertises photo restoration services.

A bell over the door jingles as he walks in.

“Be right with you!” A voice calls out from somewhere in the back of the shop.

Rafael looks around. The walls are covered in samples of the photographer’s portrait work, lots of chunky babies in costumes and smiling families in matching sweaters.

He’s drawn to a cabinet display of vintage cameras. He recognizes an Asahi Pentax K1000, his tio had always had one draped around his neck at block parties and family events. Some of them look much older than that, there’s even one with an accordion shape and a drapey curtain hung over it.

“Graflex large format camera,” a voice says behind him. “My bisnonno opened the shop with that in 1920.”

Rafael turns and sees a tall man dressed casually in jeans and a navy blue Henley.

“Sonny Carisi,” the man holds his hand out. “You must be Rafael Barba.”

Rafael shakes his hand. “That’s me.”

“Come on,” Sonny curls his arm in a wave. “I’ve got everything set up in the back if you want to take a look at the prop options.”

“Props?” Rafael asks as he follows Sonny through a curtain to the studio space. There are backdrops hung along the wall, single chairs in front of each one, and in one corner there is a pile of furniture on casters, everything easy to move into place if more seats are needed.

“Yeah, y’know, depending on the look you’re going for.” Sonny pulls a binder off a shelf and flips it open. Each page is the back cover of a dust jacket, and Rafael recognizes a number of local authors among the pages.

Sonny points out some of the props in the photos. “We can get you in front of a typewriter, if you want something a bit Private Eye, or we can go with a stack of books. I’d fix the spine titles in editing, so the stack looks like your own stuff. Or if your books have a theme, we can try to match it. What kind of stuff do you write?”

Rafael looks askance at the photographer. He’s got no illusions about his own fame, he’s certainly not a public figure like Stephen King, but he has had 9 books top the New York Times bestseller list and even if Sonny isn’t familiar with his specific works, Rafael had thought he might be aware of the gist of them.

“Mysteries,” Rafael says finally. “Set in New York during the Jazz Age.”

“Oh, cool.” Sonny nods. “We could put you in a smoking jacket, maybe a cigarette holder?”

Rafael stares outright at him now. “I don’t smoke.”

Sonny isn’t looking at him, but there are crinkles in the corners of his eyes and he is biting his lip like he is holding back laughter.

“You already knew all that, didn’t you.” Rafael sighs.

Sonny lets his laughter out, a low chuckle that wraps around Rafael like a warm sweater. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just too easy to wind you guys up. I’m actually a big fan, I got your last one for Christmas last year and stayed up all night to read it.”

Feeling somewhat mollified, Rafael returns his attention to Sonny’s portfolio. “Are props even really necessary?” He asks. “Can’t I just stand and look distinguishedly off into the distance?”

“Okay, first of all, just because you’re a writer doesn’t mean you can just make things up, I am like almost 100% certain that’s not a real word.” Sonny holds his thumb up, followed by his index finger. “And secondly, you’d look distinguished in a potato sack, so if you really don’t want props, that’s fine. I can work with that.”

Rafael smirks. “Do you have potato sacks on hand?” He asks.

“Yeah, actually. You’d be amazed how many moms want to see their babies looking like they were purchased from a farm stand. Not sure they’d fit you, though.”

Rafael laughs, surprised and delighted at the quickness of Sonny’s replies.

“No potato sacks, then.” He agrees.

Sonny looks him up and down, head tilted in thought. “Your old photo’s not bad, you know, just outdated. It’d be easy enough to replicate.”

The old photo, the one Rafael has been using since his first book was published, features him slouched in a low-backed bar stool, one elbow up on the chair back and his legs open in a sprawl in front of him. His tie hung loose around his neck, collar and top button of his shirt open. He’d thought it had given him the right amount of insouciant appeal, casual and a little cocksure, which he had been.

He sighs. “No, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m not that young upstart writer anymore. I think maybe something a bit more mature wouldn’t be amiss.”

Sonny nods. “So let’s show that, then. Update the image to reflect your growth as a writer.”

Rafael looks at him curiously. “What did you have in mind?”

“We’ll keep the style – bar stool, suit and tie – but make the setting a bit more straight-on. Shirt buttoned, tie done up tight, body square and facing the camera.”

Rafael pictures it. In the original photo he’s wearing a classic black suit and white shirt, and today he is wearing a dark grey suit, paired with a silvery-white shirt. It’s close enough to matching that he can play on that and make it seem that an update of the original was his plan all along.

“I’ll need to borrow a tie, though.” He winces, thinking about the cheap polyester ties Sonny probably has in his prop wardrobe.

Sonny considers his outfit and hums as he walks over to a closet. He pulls out a black tie and a patterned white pocket square. The tie is already looped, and Rafael slips it on and tightens it as Sonny neatly folds and tucks the square into his jacket pocket. The tie is surprisingly not rough and cheap feeling, but silky smooth under Rafael’s fingers.

“Alright, take a seat on…over here, this one.” Sonny directs him to a stool in front of a slate grey backdrop. “We’ll start simple, but I can put together a few mock-ups with edited backgrounds,” Sonny says, “Bookcases and that sort of thing.”

Rafael perches himself near the edge of the seat, one leg out straight and the other bent, foot on a rung of the stool. He’s not sure what to do with his hands so he rests them in his lap, fingers interlaced.

Sonny’s camera is a straightforward digital SLR and he encourages Rafael not to focus on the camera but just do what feels natural. What feels natural is to watch Sonny, to let his gaze draw over Sonny’s concentration, the way his mouth purses as he looks down at the screen and the way his hands cradle the camera.

It’s quiet, Sonny focused and Rafael hyperaware of the need to keep his face relatively still. Sonny taps a key on his laptop and music fills the studio. As the opening notes of one of Rafael’s favourite overtures begins, he feels himself relaxing minutely, and Sonny smiles at him.

“There you are,” he says, the camera clicking as he takes shot after shot. “Note to self, the great Rafael Barba loves A Chorus Line.”

Rafael meets Sonny’s eyes but he doesn’t respond short of his mouth quirking a bit.

The photo shoot only lasts another fifteen minutes before Sonny sets his camera down.

“I’ll do some work on them tonight and send the best options to Ms. Calhoun.”

Rafael is surprised at already being done but he stands and removes the borrowed tie and pocket square.

“Would you like to come to the publisher’s book launch next month? It’s just a small wine and cheese thing before the first book reading, but it’d be a chance to see your work in use.” Rafael tries to sound casual as he rifles through his bag, but he hopes Sonny says yes.

Sonny’s eyebrows raise and his eyes brighten. “Yeah? That’d be cool. I’m excited for the new book, the last one had such a cliffhanger ending!”

Rafael finds what he was looking for and pulls it out of his bag with a sly smile. “In that case, can I interest you in an ARC, as thanks for today?”

It’s bound but has no decoration on the cover, only the publication information. Sonny gawks at it.

“It’s missing a few pieces, the maps and such are only added in the final printing, but the story is all there.” Rafael shuffles his feet awkwardly. He realizes suddenly that it’s possible Sonny has just been saying he’s a fan because it’s what he does with all of his clients, and maybe he doesn’t want to feel obligated to read this.

Sonny picks it up reverently, and looks at Rafael, his eyes wide. “This is so cool!” He exclaims. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to have this?”

“Yeah, giving out review copies is standard. You can even rate it on Goodreads, if you want.”

Sonny hands it back to him. “Will you sign it?”

“Of course,” Rafael says, pulling a pen out of his coat’s inner pocket. He flips the book open to the dedication page, which is blank in this copy. He taps the pen against his lip and then writes a short note followed by his slash of a signature, then returns it to Sonny.

“I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the story,” he says with a wink. Sonny blushes lightly as he takes the book, his fingers brushing Rafael’s.

He leads Rafael out of the studio and through the store to the front door. “It was nice to meet you, Mr. Barba.” Sonny holds his hand out.

“My friends call me Rafa,” he shakes Sonny’s hand. “Don’t forget, I’ll be waiting on those thoughts.”

He leaves with a spring in his step and his phone buzzes only a few minutes later.

_Unknown Number: Is giving out the author’s number also standard with review copies?_

Rafael grins to himself, and his fingers fly as he taps out his response.

_No, that’s just for you._

Sonny replies with a blushing smiley face, and Rafael tucks his phone into his pocket as he jogs down the steps into the subway. He’d been reluctant to update his author’s photo, but there’s something to be said for being open to new things.

**Author's Note:**

> I think y'all know what real event this might possibly be inspired by. @RE give us a new pfp challenge.


End file.
